ESCONDIDO: Ballpark vote delayed to March 2

ESCONDIDO ---- City officials said Wednesday that they plan to
postpone from Feb. 16 to March 2 a crucial Escondido City Council
vote on a $50 million minor league ballpark development agreement
with San Diego Padres owner Jeff Moorad.

City Manager Clay Phillips said the delay was prompted by
concerns about how the city will finance the ballpark. City
officials had planned to use redevelopment revenue, but Gov. Jerry
Brown recently proposed abolishing that kind of revenue to help
balance the state budget.

Phillips said the city has been exploring ways to protect some
or all of the more than $25 million in redevelopment revenue it
receives each year, and that those efforts have made it necessary
to delay the council's vote on the ballpark development
agreement.

The ballpark would be built on the northwestern edge of downtown
and be home to the Padres' Triple-A affiliate. Construction is
scheduled to begin next January, with the ballpark slated to open
in April 2012.